Fever Coach Stephanie White Reveals Caitlin Clark's Motivation After Conversation
The talk of the women's basketball community headed into November is the Indiana Fever announcing on Friday that they've hired head coach Stephanie White.
White spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Connecticut Sun, where she produced a 55-25 regular season record, won the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year Award, and came one win away from taking her Sun squad to the WNBA Finals against the New York Liberty.
But that's all now in the past, as White will be taking her talents to a Fever team that seems destined to be a true championship contender for years to come.
The key piece of Indiana's success last season was rookie guard Caitlin Clark, who orchestrated the Fever's lethal offense and helped bring them to their first WNBA playoffs appearance since 2016.
During an interview with ESPN on Friday, White revealed she spoke with Clark the night before her hiring was announced — and offered the 22-year-old a ton of praise.
"I spoke with Caitlin last night, and I think just overall excitement," White said when asked when her and Clark's conversation was comprised of. "I have been watching Caitlin play since she was an eighth grader... and just an exciting time for me. Very excited to be working with her and with this young team.
White then discussed both her and Clark wearing No. 22 while they played in Indiana, and concluded the segment by saying, "I just can’t wait. She’s a student of he game, she loves the game of basketball, she has been so great with how she’s handled all of the attention.
"She just wants to play, she just wants to win. And I look forward to coaching players like that," White added.
Stephanie said she spoke with Caitlin last night 😁….
— Priceless 💎✨ (@YeahItsAhNo) November 1, 2024
She mention Kelsey and Aliyah as well!!!! pic.twitter.com/cHhwjkUPCu
Clark's motivation to play and to win appears likely to bear fruit next season.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.